karshapana

As the towns and cities of the Gangetic plain got established, coins were also introduced in trading activity. Silver punch-marked coins, copper punch-marked coins and cast copper coins were used as currency. These coins were called punch-marked, following the manufacturing technique, where the symbol was punched on the metal in a separate action[3].
Then there were coins that imitated the Greek, Roman and Iranian styles. Coins minted elsewhere such as the denarii of the Roman Empire, were also used in India. But the most commonly used coin was called the karshapana or pana. Kautilya uses pana in his Arthashastra quite a lot. He wrote that high officials were to be paid 48,000 panas every year, provincial and frontier governors 12,000 panas and Grade I courtesans 3,000 panas.
The reason we are talking about karshapana today is due to the the discovery that the Late Priyamvada Birla had some of these coins concealed in her library and since it was not declared to ASI, she would have been jailed if she were alive.

According to National Museumâ??s numismatist Rita Debi Sharma, who saw photographs of the treasure, the coins included the most rare karshapana belonging to the Gandhara Janapada, dating back between 5th and 6th century BC.
The treasure also included 5th century AD gold coins from the Gupta period and 16th century Mughal gold coins. The treasure trove was inside a secret room, whose door was concealed behind a wooden panel of Priyamvadaâ??s library. Three pistols, along with their licences, were also found. Another safe in the vault is yet to be opened.
According to Sharma, “The karshapana coin found in the vault is very rare. Generally such bent bar coins have two symbols engraved on them. Those which have been found to have a single symbol are even more rare. However, the gold coins from the Gupta and Mughal periods are comparatively younger in age.”
Director of National Museum Dr K K Chakroborty added, “I have not seen the coins found in the vault of Priyamvada Birla. But I know that some from Samudraguptas time are rare and aesthetically and artistically very valuable. Finding so many from one place is unbelievable.” [Birla gold: Coins other side ]

Food for thought: How does a Grade III courtesan become a Grade I courtesan?

Boats – Neolithic to 10th century A.D.

Just after the much advertised bronze age trade route boat sank, there have been stories about various archaeological discoveries related to boats in various periods of time. At this website, we will be looking at world events alongwith Indian events so that we can get a better perspective on our development.
The boat trip from Oman to India was based on a bronze age design dating to about 3500 B.C and gave us an idea of what materials were used in the construction and how navigation was done. Now a Neolithic age boat has been discovered in South Korea which dates to about 6000 B.C.

(…) It dates back to 8,000 years ago and measures 60 centimeters wide, 310 centimeters long and 20 centimeters deep.
“Although scientific studies determining the exact date of the boat have yet to be completed, the fact that it was discovered in the fifth shell layer, the lowest layer in the Pibong-ri, Changnyong County ruins dating to early Neolithic era, gives us reason to believe that the boat is approximately 8,000 years old,â??â?? Im said.
(…) The boat, made of pinewood and presumed to have been at least four meters long in its original state, was first sighted during a dig started in early December 2004. Excavation work continued through late August.
Im said the boat sheds new light on the lives of our prehistoric ancestors.
“From the boatâ??s size and thickness of the platform, which measures five centimeters, we are assuming that it was used for fishing and traveling across surrounding small bodies of waters,â??â?? he said.

Human habitation in South Kyongsang Province, especially Pusan has been dated to early Neolithic times, between 5000 B.C. and 4000 B.C. During the Neolithic era, major human achievements include weaving, farming, and using pottery.
Two years back, the remains of a boat about a 1000 years old was discovered in Kerala. This boat, similar to the one discovered in Korea was used for traveling along the coast and inland waters. Now from the same period in time comes the discovery of a Chinese ship that went down in the blue Java sea, while traveling along a trade route connecting Asia with Europe and Middle East.

(…) It appears the Sriwijaya ship was relatively small and locally made, with initial carbon testing showing the wood may have come from Indonesiaâ??s Sumatra or Kalimantan islands, Agung said. That would indicate that Chinese and Arabian traders brought the goods to Sriwijaya, he said, for inter-island trade in the region.
(…) But Agung said he has experienced little problem with the Sriwijaya ship, in part because the Chinese â?? unlike Europeans â?? kept no data on maritime trade a thousand years ago.
[ Sunken treasure sheds new light]

Question on Ochre Colored Pottery in UP

A historian from Bolivia sent me the following mail. I don’t know the answer. If you have any pointers, please leave a comment.

This time I would like to tell you that I’m interested in Ochre Coloured Pottery excavations in UP. Time ago I asked V.N. Misra and he told me there is no big digging in the area these days searching for OCP habitations and pottery. Anyway there were news of a team searching Saket and the note mentioned the possibility of finding earlier potteries than PGW in, I mean, Sanchankot.
Could you please tell me if you know of news about OCP new findings, books and specially Web pages where I could find information?
I also would like pictures of this ware.